Vehicle tires may be operated in any of a variety of conditions. For example, a vehicle tire may be operated in wet conditions (e.g., a wet roadway), snowy conditions (e.g., a snow-covered roadway or a snow-covered off-road landscape), muddy conditions (e.g., wet or loose soil in an off-road landscape), and the like. Vehicle tires intended for such applications typically include a tread portion having a tread pattern. Tread patterns often include a complex system of elements intended to optimize tire performance across a variety of operating conditions. For example, tires intended for operation in wet conditions typically include circumferential grooves extending about the circumference of the tire to assist in evacuation of water from the tire footprint area during operation. In another example, tires intended for operation in snowy conditions may include a higher concentration of edges to trap snow.
It is understood that a tire operating in snowy conditions typically experiences increased traction when the tire traps snow within the tread pattern. That is, it is understood that snow-on-snow contact typically exhibits greater friction forces than rubber-on-snow contact. It is understood that mud-on-mud contact likewise typically exhibits greater friction forces than rubber-on-mud contact.
As such, where a tread pattern includes circumferential grooves, it may be beneficial to trap snow and/or mud in at least a portion of the circumferential groove, which snow and/or mud has increased friction forces at its interface with the free snow and/or mud on the running surface, that is traveling along the circumferential groove during tire operation. As a result, the tread pattern as a whole may have increased traction in snowy and/or muddy conditions.
What is needed is a tire having a traction element configured to trap snow and/or mud in the tread pattern.